Background The colonization of Australia is responsible for complex layers of trauma for the First Nations peoples of the continent. First Nations Australians’ well-being is irrevocably tied to the well-being of the land. The application of a landscape-based approach to collaborative research shows promise in enabling genuine relationships that yield rich and informative data. However, there is a lack of practical evidence in the field of landscape research—research tied to First Nations Australians’ worldviews of landscape. Objective This study aims to deepen shared knowledges of well-being and healing on Australian soils. We aim to examine ritual co-design as a novel method for deepening these shared knowledges. Methods This research comprises a qualitative and participatory action research design operationalized through an Indigenist approach. It is a 2-phase project that is co-designed with First Nations Australians. Phase 1 of this project is a relational study that endeavors to deepen the theory underpinning the project, alongside the development of meaningful and reciprocal community connections. Phase 2 is a series of 3 participatory action research cycles to co-design a new communal ritual. This process seeks to privilege First Nations Australians’ voices and ways of knowing, which are themselves communal, ritual, and symbolic. The framework developed by psychiatrist Carl Jung informs the psychological nature of the enquiry. An Indigenist approach to landscape research recasts the Jungian frame to enable a culturally safe, context-specific, and landscape-based method of qualitative research. Results The research is in the preliminary stages of participant recruitment. It is expected that data collection will commence in late 2022. Conclusions It is expected that this qualitative and co-designed project will strengthen the cross-cultural co-designer relationships and that the data gathered from these relationships, and the accompanying practical outcomes, will provide new insight into the interaction between human and landscape well-being. The field of landscape research is in an embryonic phase. This new field is embedded in the understanding that First Nations Australians’ well-being is irrevocably tied to the well-being of the land, and this study seeks to build on this evidence base. A strength of this research is the relational methodology, in which First Nations Peoples’ needs and desires will inform future research directions. It is limited by its context specific nature; however, it is expected that findings will be usable in guiding future research directions in the multidisciplinary field of landscape research. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/36328

Cultural safety is a keystone reform concept intended to improve First Nations Peoples’ health and wellbeing. Are definitions of cultural safety, in themselves, culturally safe? A purposive search of diverse sources in Australian identified 42 definitions of cultural safety. Structuration theory informed the analytical framework and was applied through an Indigenist methodology. Ten themes emerged from this analysis, indicating that cultural risk is embedded in cultural safety definitions that diminish (meddlesome modifications and discombobulating discourse), demean (developmentally dubious and validation vacillations), and disempower (professional prose, redundant reflexivity, and scholarly shenanigans) the cultural identity (problematic provenance and ostracised ontology) of First Nations Australians. We offer four guidelines for future definitional construction processes, and methodology and taxonomy for building consensus based of definitions of cultural safety. Using this approach could reduce cultural risk and contribute to improved workforce ability to respond to the cultural strengths of First Nations Australians.

BACKGROUND Background The colonization of Australia is responsible for complex layers of trauma for the First Nations peoples of the continent. First Nations Australians’ wellbeing is irrevocably tied to the wellbeing of the land. The application of a landscape-based approach to collaborative research shows promise in enabling genuine relationships that yield rich and informative data. However, there is a lack of practical evidence in the field of landscape research–research tied to First Nations Australians’ world views of landscape. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to deepen shared knowledges of wellbeing and healing on Australian soils. The objective is to examine ritual codesign as a novel method for deepening these shared knowledges. METHODS Methods This research comprises a qualitative and participatory research design operationalized through an Indigenist approach. It is a two-phase project that is codesigned with First Nations Australians. Phase 1 of this project is a relational study that endeavours to deepen the theory underpinning the project, alongside the development of meaningful and reciprocal community connections. Phase 2 is a series of three participatory action research (PAR) cycles to codesign a new communal ritual. This process seeks to privilege First Nations Australians’ voices and ways of knowing [1] which are themselves communal, ritual and symbolic. The framework developed by Psychiatrist Carl Jung informs the psychological nature of the enquiry. An Indigenist approach to landscape research re-casts the Jungian frame to enable a culturally safe, context-specific and landscape-based method of qualitative research. RESULTS Results Ethical approval for phase 1: a relational study, has been received by the University of New England Human Research Ethics Committee (UNE-HREC) in Armidale, Australia. The research is in the preliminary stages of participant recruitment. It is expected that data collection will commence in late 2022 after a separate Human Research Ethics Application [2] for phase 2 is submitted to the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AHMRC) of New South Wales (NSW) and the UNE-HREC. CONCLUSIONS Conclusion The field of landscape research is an embryonic phase. This field is embedded in the understanding that First Nations Australians’ wellbeing is irrevocably tied to the wellbeing of the land. This study proposes the codesign of a new communal ritual as a empowering method for collaborative research. This process is guided by the framework of Jungian Psychology and re-cast through an Indigenist approach to research and knowledge creation. A strength of this research is the relational methodology, in which First Nations community needs and desires will inform future research directions.